Any one ever bought a cheap 'luxo-barge' S-class etc.

One of the Mercedes v12 cl600

Clarksons bought one for a look how much you get for your money on top gear and it packed up with a faulty was yonks ago so the part may be cheaper..

There’s always ways around it …. I remember having a new bushing put in a porsche 944s wishbone when porsche would only sell a complete assembly for silly money when only a 5 quid part was worn..

It’s only machinery nothing special ….

V12 spark packs are done in two banks of 6 🙂

Spark pack sits on plug

Been there done that loads. Most have expensive habbits

Except one.

The most comfortable car ever, the most reliable car ever.
It’s no slouch either (0-60 6.5), will return over 30mpg on a run (not with a bike rack on though) and is std PLG tax.

Lexus LS400 Mk4, 1997-2000.

Lexus LS400 Mk4, 1997-2000.

<Partridge>Its the Japanese Mercedes! </Partridge>

Looks troublesome to park properly 😉

Looks troublesome to park properly

<Partridge>Its the Japanese Mercedes! </Partridge>

😉

Do you have a nice sweater to wear when driving it?

i ran 2 very nice v12 850 BMWs for 6 years, very comfortable, quite rare and surprisingly very reliable.
at the moment i have an Xjr v8 4.0 supercharged ” barge” with the pully mod, blimey its quick,

Clarkson’s problem was with a coil pack that went soon after car purchase. IIRC they ran a 12cyl Merc, an 850 Bimmer and an old Roller. I never did see the follow up apart from the guffaws about the Merc’s expensive habit.

Yep cl600. Fairly notorious for failing coil packs and ABC (active suspension) struts at £1500 per corner.

I run an old LS430 (newer version of the 400s up there). LPG conversion means it costs 17p per mile to run – amazingly fast, really comfy (the kids love the air conditioned massage reclining rear seats), every toy you can imagine (I smile at the self closing doors every time I get in it) and available for not much money.

Do some research so you know the common faults – on LS430s it is steering wheel auto adjustment motor, self folding wing mirrors, the rear fridge failing and the air suspension. Only the last one is expensive (and even that can be bodged). Will buy another one when this one dies.

The trouble with post 2006 old luxo barges is the road tax. I notice that the Skoda (MrNice post) co2 isn’t included in the advert. I’d assume that it’s because it’s £500 per year. This will kill off many post 2006 luxo barges since people won’t want to pay it.

Agree, but tbh there are an awful lot of ‘normal’ cars hit by this too; my wife’s previous Freelander (an auto 2.0 tdi) was 1 co2 over the limit.

‘Road tax’ ? C’mon guys, you of all people on a biking website should know that there’s no such thing. FFS.

After I started this thread i have been keeping my eyes open. There seem to be a lot of bigger Audis around here. E-class merc’s too.

I used to roll in one of these badboys…

Not very luxo, but definitely a barge.

The 2-litre V6 was a great engine, surprisingly powerful and beautifully smooth.

Was nice to own something a bit different, but I’d just get a Mondeo now (if I didn’t have a van).

You lot will be needing these

You might scoff, but it looked pretty sweet next to the repmobiles in the car park at the Linton Travel Tavern.